If you live in the bay area, access to rice noodles is fairly common. Making pad thai is relatively easy so why not try it? You can usually buy the necessary ingredients in most grocery stores. Thai Kitchen makes a gluten free fish sauce as well as pad thai sauce.

If you make your pad thai sauce from scratch (a more economical choice), check the soy sauce label and make sure it says “wheat’ and “gluten free”.

If you are concerned about your tamarind sauce being gluten free, use a fig paste mixed with water. The texture and taste is very similar.

Since the sauce is slightly sweet, many children seem to like this dish. If you have allergies to peanuts, you can try cashews or just leave it out. For this recipe, some fresh chard was added with the carrots. It adds nice color and certainly ups the nutrition as well.

While the rice noodles soften, prep the other ingredients. Have everything ready to go when you start cooking; it goes pretty quickly after that. Once it’s cooked, get out your chop sticks and enjoy a delcious, fairly healthy meal.

1. Fill a medium pot a little more than half way with water. Bring to a boil. Add rice noodles and turn heat off. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Strain noodles and rinse with cold water. You can keep these in the colander while you make the stir fry.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok or pan over high heat. Add eggs and scramble, using a spoon to move around the pan (otherwise it will burn). It should cook very quickly. Once cooked, remove from pan and place in a bowl.

3. Heat remaining oil and add onion and shrimp to pan. Cook until shrimp are opaque. Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute. Transfer to the bowl with the eggs.

For more info: Always check the ingredients that you are using to ensure they are gluten free. You can also call the manufacterer to get more accurate information. Check these lists of safe and unsafe foods for more information.

About Amy Fothergill

Chef Amy Fothergill is passionate about gluten-free cooking that are always big on taste. She teaches classes, writes a food blog and just finished writing a gluten-free cookbook. Contact her at amy@amythefamilychef.com or get more info about her book at www.thewarmkitchen.com